Transcending Capitalism
Four Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks on MSNBC's Your Business
by August Turak
JJ Ramberg talks with August Turak on MSNBC's Your Business
Honesty, integrity and empathy are key virtues to nurture when it comes to building a company that people can trust. On July 10th, 2013 Turak joined host JJ Ramberg on MSNBC's Your Business - Business War Chest, to talk about his new book, Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks and the timeless principles he learned while living and working with the Trappist Monks of Mepkin Abbey.
Click here to watch the interview!
Honesty, integrity and empathy are key virtues to nurture when it comes to building a company that people can trust. On July 10th, 2013 Turak joined host JJ Ramberg on MSNBC's Your Business - Business War Chest, to talk about his new book, Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks and the timeless principles he learned while living and working with the Trappist Monks of Mepkin Abbey.
Click here to watch the interview!
Success Does Not Mean Sacrificing Happiness for Big Profits
by August Turak
On June 24th Turak appeared on The Money Answers Show with Jordan Goodman on VoiceAmerica Business. Turak and Goodman discussed how success doesn't mean sacrificing happiness for big profits.
Click here to listen to the show!
Monks are known for living in silence and seclusion, but entrepreneur August Turak knows that they hold something of great value to the secular world—the key to business success. In his new book, “Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity,” Turak tells the story of how he spent the past 17 years working part-time alongside Trappist monks as they ran high-margin businesses producing widely sought after commodities such as beer, eggs and exotic mushrooms... READ MORE
Click here to listen to the show!
Monks are known for living in silence and seclusion, but entrepreneur August Turak knows that they hold something of great value to the secular world—the key to business success. In his new book, “Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO’s Quest for Meaning and Authenticity,” Turak tells the story of how he spent the past 17 years working part-time alongside Trappist monks as they ran high-margin businesses producing widely sought after commodities such as beer, eggs and exotic mushrooms... READ MORE
Is The American Dream Dead? The Four Inconvenient Truths Behind Income Inequality
by August Turak
In his latest book The Price of Inequality, Columbia's Joseph Stiglitz argues that America “is no longer the land of opportunity” and “the ‘American Dream’ is a myth.” This Nobel laureate marshals a mind numbing array of statistics to argue that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and that never the twain shall meet: Social mobility in America, says Stiglitz, is a thing of the past.
But apparently all is not lost, according to Stiglitz if we just make Brazil our model by improving education and nutrition and eliminating “corporate welfare” the American Dream may yet rise phoenix-like from the ashes.
While I share the concerns of Stiglitz and other apocalyptic prophets over poverty and income inequality, I...
But apparently all is not lost, according to Stiglitz if we just make Brazil our model by improving education and nutrition and eliminating “corporate welfare” the American Dream may yet rise phoenix-like from the ashes.
While I share the concerns of Stiglitz and other apocalyptic prophets over poverty and income inequality, I...
State of the State
by August Turak
What do I do?
Look at the environment around you. Write down three things that you can accomplish this month in the spirit of service and selflessness.
Don't figure it out, find out: See the bigger picture. Spirituality is missing and should be applied to our economic and psychological problems in America. Read as Turak answers when a concerned reader asks if spirituality is compatible with business. Get and stay inspired by focusing on what is essential. Read how action leads to more action and eventually inspiration. 3. Pay attention, look someone in the eyes and really try to see them. Find out why a concerned reader thinks that most of us don’t really see what is going on, despite looking. Don’t give in to culture. Watch...
Don't figure it out, find out: See the bigger picture. Spirituality is missing and should be applied to our economic and psychological problems in America. Read as Turak answers when a concerned reader asks if spirituality is compatible with business. Get and stay inspired by focusing on what is essential. Read how action leads to more action and eventually inspiration. 3. Pay attention, look someone in the eyes and really try to see them. Find out why a concerned reader thinks that most of us don’t really see what is going on, despite looking. Don’t give in to culture. Watch...
Why Adam Smith Was Only Half Right
by August Turak
When Adam Smith argued that human beings are essentially selfish he was not wrong but only half right. Sure, every baby starts out screaming “Mine, Mine, MINE!,” but while some of us will remain more selfish than others, we all move toward selflessness as we mature. In fact immaturity in adults is usually defined as being “spoiled;” which is just another term for self-indulgent selfishness. In other words the very process of maturation is a journey leading us beyond the innate selfishness we are all born with. Adam Smith was only half right because he didn’t realize that as human beings we are all longing to selflessly “give ourselves away” to something so much bigger and more important than ourselves.
While at...
While at...
The Missing Elephant in the Bedroom
by August Turak
Jack Welch, GE’s former CEO and leadership maven made headlines by castigating Hewlett Packard’s board for gross negligence in the wake of the scandal that cost CEO, Mark Hurd, his job. However it was not the scandal per se that drew his ire, but that HP had done such a poor job in succession planning and overall leadership development.
“The Hewlett-Packard board has committed sins over the last 10 years,” said Mr. Welch. “They have not done one of the primary jobs of a board, which is to prepare the next generation of leadership…They end up blowing up the CEO’s and don’t have anyone else in mind to come in. Where the hell was the leadership development?”
During his amazingly successful tenure...
“The Hewlett-Packard board has committed sins over the last 10 years,” said Mr. Welch. “They have not done one of the primary jobs of a board, which is to prepare the next generation of leadership…They end up blowing up the CEO’s and don’t have anyone else in mind to come in. Where the hell was the leadership development?”
During his amazingly successful tenure...
3 Keys to Competing
by August Turak
When we consider “the competition” as other companies offering similar products we are only partially right. There are three levels to competition and our direct competitors are only the first and most obvious.
The second level of competition is indirect competition. In the early days of spreadsheets, VisiCalc and Lotus 123 were first to market. A Wall Street Journal article at the time argued that both companies were so busy competing with each other that they failed to notice that most people still didn’t think they needed any electronic spreadsheet. The challenge for both companies was not being the best spreadsheet, but generically selling the category “spreadsheets.” VisiCalc’s competition was not just Lotus, but everything else besides spreadsheets that a client...
The second level of competition is indirect competition. In the early days of spreadsheets, VisiCalc and Lotus 123 were first to market. A Wall Street Journal article at the time argued that both companies were so busy competing with each other that they failed to notice that most people still didn’t think they needed any electronic spreadsheet. The challenge for both companies was not being the best spreadsheet, but generically selling the category “spreadsheets.” VisiCalc’s competition was not just Lotus, but everything else besides spreadsheets that a client...
Turak on NPR – Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins
by August Turak
Mike Collins interviewed Mr. Turak, August 27 on NPR's Charlotte Talks.
Listen to the archive!
Turak applies his transformational model of Service and Selflessness to our current economic woes and charts a new way out. Find out why the secret lies in transcending capitalism not destroying it, and learn and how to apply these lessons to your own life and career with dramatic results.
What do I do?
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Don't figure it out, Find out by reading more: Read Turak’s article Business Secrets of the Trappists on Forbes.com to explore how to lead all the competing factions of one’s brain, one’s self! Read Faith, Trial, and Transformation on 7th...
Don't figure it out, Find out by reading more: Read Turak’s article Business Secrets of the Trappists on Forbes.com to explore how to lead all the competing factions of one’s brain, one’s self! Read Faith, Trial, and Transformation on 7th...